The refereeing in this league is such a joke. I'm not talking just as a Canucks fan, I'm talking as a hockey fan who has been watching since the late fifties. I know for a fact that the NHL officials are more incompetent now than they've ever been. There is absolutely no consistency in the calls.

If the refs in this series called the game the way it should have been called, the series would be 2-2 now. Kelly Sutherland is indeed a real asshole.

paddy wrote:You Reap what you sow seriously, Bieksa is talking about the Sharks embellishment meanwhile Kesler is talking about how he dove last year in the postseason in between periods on TV seriously on TV...

The team and its fanbase with a straight face wonder why they dont get the benefit of the doubt...

paddy wrote:You Reap what you sow seriously, Bieksa is talking about the Sharks embellishment meanwhile Kesler is talking about how he dove last year in the postseason in between periods on TV seriously on TV...

The team and its fanbase with a straight face wonder why they dont get the benefit of the doubt...

Spidey you had your chance and got cold feet... If you wanted to take a piss standing up before hand MUCH RESPECT the I told you so after the fact WEAK but I digress... perfectly willing to eat crow for the life of me still cannot understand how you can cheer for a team that beat us not only beat us but put the blueprint out their for everybody else but to each their own

whether you like it or don't like it learn to live with it because its the best thing going today...

A couple of things. First I think Refs should have their names on the back of their uniforms again. That way players can identify them and try to build relationships but also avoid the Refs clear blindspots. I think it made for a better game back in the day when the old school refs would even chirp back a little - as per a couple of Kerry Frasers old stories.

Second, the reap what you sow thing is getting old. That was two years ago. How long are we going to keep coming back to this. Until we blow up the entire core and the only guy recognizable on the team is a grizzled Tanev? or are we waiting till the current crop of refs have retired.

KB shoulda kept his mouth shut but he WASN'T WRONG. That's the issue. Most of the commentary I have read elsewhere has focussed on the gross imbalance in penalties and the questionable calls, especially late in the game where the comments often end with the phrase "that wouldn't be a penalty in XYZ series".

Lastly, there really should be some type of performance review on refs to keep them honest but also grow their skill. Every other job in the world (other than being self employed) involves performance reviews. Refs should be the same because their decision not only affect the outcomes of games, but in playoffs, can have huge monetary repercussions for teams. Accountability is a must.

Agree with dl. Hearing Bettmans interview with Flake Price and the sheer arrogance in his tone about the officiating was nauseating to say the least. These people are beyond reproach and the shit rolls downhill.

It's not the referees. They are just employees who do the jobs assigned to them by their employer (the NHL).

It's the employer who sets the vision, mission and goals of the officiating department. Clearly, the vision of the NHL Officiating Department is not to "officiate the games to the letter of the rulebook". It's something else. It's some kind of grey area, with some direction to "manage the games" with memos that are sent out periodically to implement "crackdowns" on this or that.

I think the NHL referees have a tough job, because clearly the direction from head office (unlike at other leagues, like the NFL) is not to call every penalty as they see them happen. The direction isn't clear, so how are these guys supposed to have any consistency or transparency in the way they call their games?

To me, it would seem much easier to make rules and then follow your own rules rather than have all of these grey areas, and unofficial changes in standards, but that's just me.

What really gets me is the ego involvement and the "third team". Everyone seems okay with referees having ego's and letting that affect their calls.

Why is it okay for ref's to hold grudges against players who make them look stupid (Auger)?
Why is it okay for them to allow their personal views of a given team or player affect their decision on a given play?

It seems to me that if a ref sees a high-stick, he should call the high stick. His thought process shouldn't jump to who the player getting high sticked is, what the score is, who the home team is, how buddy is shaking his hand/snapping his head so he must've got whacked etc.

Vpete's video clearly shows that the standards applied in this series were not equal. If I were an NHL front-office guy, I'd be concerned that these refs are letting their emotions get involved. I know my old man has completely tuned out NHL hockey because he can't stomach the officiating. I wouldn't be shocked if it's actually hurting business.

Refs are paid VERY well to apply the rule book. They aren't payed to "manage the game" (as some suggest). Too many of these fuckers enjoy seeing themselves on the jumbotron, enjoy being the focus of attention (how many "no goal arm waves" or overly emphasized point to the puck in the net or at player "x" do we have to endure??).

Tell these zebras they should be as invisible as possible. People aren't paying to see the ref's skate around and act like fools.

Island Nucklehead wrote:Refs are paid VERY well to apply the rule book. They aren't payed to "manage the game" (as some suggest).

Could not disagree more.

If their employers wanted them to call the rule book, they would do so or be fired. That's how being an employee works. The employer makes the rules and does the performance reviews. Are you suggesting the inmates run the asylum, so to speak?

Pretty clear to me that the poor quality of refereeing stems from the muddled direction from the league.

paddy wrote:You Reap what you sow seriously, Bieksa is talking about the Sharks embellishment meanwhile Kesler is talking about how he dove last year in the postseason in between periods on TV seriously on TV...

The team and its fanbase with a straight face wonder why they dont get the benefit of the doubt...

Spidey you had your chance and got cold feet... If you wanted to take a piss standing up before hand MUCH RESPECT the I told you so after the fact WEAK but I digress... perfectly willing to eat crow for the life of me still cannot understand how you can cheer for a team that beat us not only beat us but put the blueprint out their for everybody else but to each their own

That was never my intent and I apologize if I offended thee. It was my goal to help you see through the reality distortion field (seems like the disease these days on here ) that is the media here in Tarrana.
I have liked what BB started here and if you want to waste your time you can search my statements to that effect. The Laughs will be a solid team...down the road.
Big, tough and fast forwards is the way to go in the future (Blues, Kings, Ducks) but they also need to be humbled with oodles of playoff beatdowns...I told you so...

Like most of you I have tuned into other series this year. All I can say is that stuff that has not been called would be called against the Canucks our series but not he Sharks.

Having said that, we lost because our PK sucked, our PP could not score when we did get the chance, Cory had a mini meltdown game 3. If our PK operated at top efficiency the Sharks don't win. If our PP operated at top efficiency we get more goals. Special teams was the reason we lost.

Now we can dissect that to why did the Sharks had such a high edge on PP? But it still boils down to they performed on the PP and we did not.

I just shake my head though watching other games and trying to figure out what is and is not a penalty. I love MG's answer in his presser on this issue when asked what he intended to do to help change the reputation. He turned it right back onto the media and said it is your job to report what you see. We got this reputation by media driven frenzy and the only way out is for the media to tell it like it is. From what I see more and more media outside Vancouver are seeing it and calling it like it is.

I'm not talking about wiener fans on blogs either. Guys like Ron McLean went to great lengths to entice this sort of thing when he went on his rants against the Canucks and in particular Burrows. They have a responsibility to now step up and tell it like it is.

I really really do not understand all the Canucks hatred. Maybe my glasses are too rose coloured but every time I hear the nonsense I just shake my head. So to all you haters out there, how can any of you justify what the Shark players did with their obvious embellishment?